Ten Ways to Motivate Your Employees

1. Emphasize Big Picture IdeasSoftware teams are highly influenced by opportunities for growth or chances to make a difference in the world.

Are your IT staffers simply going through the motions? Are projects too often going over schedule and over budget? A new book, "Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams" (Addison-Wesley Professional/available now), takes a close look at how to get the most out of your employees, especially when they bring a variety of personality types and skill sets to the workplace. For CIOs, this can be a challenge, as your typical software engineer or IT networking professional might be a totally different type of character than someone in accounting. Your tech stars tend to be highly curious and inquisitive, yet easily bored. In the book, authors Mickey W. Mantle and Ron Lichty offer tips for making better connections. Mantle is a 40-year software veteran who has held management positions at companies such as Pixar, Brøderbund Software and Gracenote. Lichty is a 30-year software professional who has managed at Apple and Charles Schwab, and has served on the board of SVForum, the largest developer organization in Silicon Valley.